This 1994 McLaren F1 (Chassis 018) just so happens to be a bit different than pretty much every other F1 ever made. The reason being is because although 106 total McLaren F1’s were built, only 8 of the 64 ‘road-legal’ F1’s were converted to have the rare high-downforce kit. While only 2 of those 8 cars received a factory-fitted LM-spec V12 that was more powerful (680hp) than the standard F1 V12 (627hp). This (Chassis 018) is one of those 2 cars, the other being chassis 073 finished in ‘Kandy Orange’. Chassis 018 began it’s life as a standard F1 painted ‘Midnight Blue Pearl’ before being resprayed by it’s owner to ‘Platinum Silver’ and sent in to have both the HDK (high downforce kit) and LM-spec V12 engine added, turning 018 into an ‘LM-Spec’ car. Funny enough, Chassis 018 was actually built in 1994, a full year before McLaren even won Le-Mans, so technically it’s not actually an F1 LM. McLaren built 6 ‘real’ McLaren F1 LM’s, including the XP1 LM. The 5 cars were built to commemorate the 5 F1 GTRs that crossed the finish line at the 24Hrs of Le Mans in 1995 taking 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 13th places. The ‘real’ LM cars had unique chassis numbers ‘LM1-LM5’. Chassis 018 does feature a very similar features to the ones used in the 5 LM cars. This 1994 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Spec’ is one of the rarest cars in the entire world, and at $19,805,000 (sold at @rmsothebys ), it’s a fraction of the price of the real F1 LM in today’s market.
How many made? 106 total McLaren F1’s were built. 64 of those were ‘road cars’. 8 of those road cars later received the HDK, and 2 of those 8 cars were equipped with the LM-spec V12 engine (018,073).
Engine: A 6.1L naturally aspirated V12 ‘LM-spec’ engine. Essentially an unrestricted GTR racing engine that was good for an improved 680 horsepower.
Debut: May 28th, 1992, at the Sporting Club in Monaco (prototype)
Top speed: Never officially tested. Likely to be slower than the standard F1’s 240+mph top speed due to added drag and weight.•0-60: Likely to be around 10% or less faster than the standard F1’s time of 3.2 sec.
Photo credit: @rmsothebys
Research: @rarecarsonly